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The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has started to investigate an old fertilizer-plant site
north of a Near East Side park where elevated levels of toxins were found last year.

Investigators are taking soil samples to determine whether the former Borden plant, which closed
in 1970, is the source of the contaminants. The site, now bisected by I-670, is just north of
Saunders Park, where the toxins were found.

The Dispatch reported in September that the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department
permitted a youth soccer league to play at the park last spring even though a 2012 report warned of
elevated levels in the soil of arsenic, a poison, and benzo(a)pyrene, which is suspected of causing
cancer. The city has since placed signs around the soccer fields saying the park is closed.

Ohio EPA inspectors will test ground water and soil at the site of the former plant, spokeswoman
Erin Strouse said in an email. The Ohio Department of Transportation granted permission for the
sampling on its property.

The state does not plan to take soil samples from homes near the park, Strouse said.

“In general, it’s typical for Ohio EPA to look first at a potential source site to see if a
problem even exists and whether further sampling may be warranted,” he said.

Some community leaders think the EPA should also test soil in nearby yards.

“Many of us have been wondering about the people living in the houses near the park,” said Lela
Boykin, a resident and chief operating officer of the nearby Neighborhood House, a settlement house
that provides social services.

“There are concerns whether the plant contributed to illnesses in the area,” she said.

Burgess & Niple, a consulting firm hired by the city, reported in October 2012 that a soil
analysis at Saunders Park found levels of arsenic and benzo(a)pyrene exceeding recreational
standards. The consultants recommended that the park be used only 26 days a year and that the
fields not be used for scheduled sports.

Al Edmondson, who leads the Mount Vernon Avenue District Improvement Association, said any soil
problems should be taken care of.

The city council has approved paying Burgess & Niple $142,000 to perform additional tests
and assess risks at Saunders Park. Burgess & Niple is working with the EPA and should have a
final report by early spring, said Terri Leist, a spokeswoman for Columbus Recreation and
Parks.

Borden closed its Smith-Douglass Division plant at the end of 1970, citing high production
costs. Borden Chemical had acquired the plant, formerly the Smith Agriculture Co., in 1964.